The consumption of excessive amounts of vegetable oils and animal fats has been linked to health problems such as obesity, heart disease and even cancer. It has been estimated that approximately 40% of the caloric intake of most Americans is derived from fat. Physicians and nutritionists are urging Americans to reduce their fat intake to 30% or less of their caloric intake. In fact, one well known cardiologist is advocating a 10% fat diet and has provided evidence that heart disease can be reversed through use of a 10% fat diet. Nevertheless, Americans have found it difficult to reduce their fat intake because foods that contain fat have pleasing organoleptic attributes.
Health and vanity concerns have generated a great deal of interest in the development of fat substitutes that can replace animal and vegetable fats in food while retaining the desirable organoleptic properties of fat containing foodstuffs. Fat substitutes useful as an ingredient in food are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,194,281 to Johnston, et al., , discloses polyol fatty acid polyesters as fat substitutes in baked, fried and dairy foods. U.S. Pat. No. 4,985,270 to Singer et al., discloses non-fat and reduced fat dairy products, wherein the fat is replaced by a proteinaceous macrocolloid comprising denatured protein particles. U.S. Pat. No. 5,356,644 to Hendrick et al., discloses a low calorie fat substitute comprising a coating of digestible solid or semi-solid fat surrounding a low or non-caloric core material. The core material is microcrystalline cellulose, polydextrose, or non-fibrous cellulose derivatives.
The use of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) in foods has also been investigated. U.S. Pat. No. 4,937,086 to Prosise discloses the use of polyvinylpyrrolidone in fried donuts to prevent the uptake of fat during frying resulting in a donut with reduced fat. The donut mix may contain 0.1-10% by weight polyvinylpyrrolidone. U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,908 to Prosise discloses the use of polyvinylpyrrolidone as a french fry coating wherein said french fry is rendered resistant to oil absorption. Polyvinylpyrrolidone has also been used as a film former to prepare fat containing shakes suitable for freezing and reconstitution and as a controller molecule to regulate the absorption of a flavoring component. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,031,261 to Durst and U.S. Pat. No. 3,998,974 to Zaffaroni, respectively.
Polyvinylpyrrolidone is known as a direct food additive in such applications as: 1) a tablet adjuvant for flavor concentrates; 2) a stabilizer, bodying agent and dispsersant in non-nutritive sweeteners in concentrated liquid form; 3) an adjuvant in non-nutritive sweeteners in tablet form; 4) a stabilizer, bodying agent and dispersant in vitamins and mineral concentrates in liquid form; 5) a tableting adjuvant in vitamin and mineral concentrates in tablet form; and 6) a clarifying agent in vinegar, wine and beer.
A detailed description of polyvinylpyrrolidone is provided in Kollidon.RTM. polyvinylpyrrolidone for the Pharmaceutical Industry, BASF Akteingesellschaft, Feinchemie, D-67056 (1993) and incorporated herein by reference. The soluble grades of polyvinylpyrrolidone are obtained by free-radical polymerization of vinylpyrrolidone in water or isopropanol, yielding the chain structure of polyvinylpyrrolidone. The insoluble grades of polyvinylpyrrolidone are obtained by popcorn polymerization of N-vinylpyrrolidone which yields a crosslinked polymer.
Although polyvinylpyrrolidone has been used in specific food for various purposes, the inventors have surprisingly discovered that the addition of polyvinylpyrrolidone to replace the fat in foods, produces a fat free or reduced fat food stuff that is healthier as well as pleasing to the palate.
Thus it is an object of the present invention to provide a product that is not only low in fat content but also one that has pleasing organoleptic attributes.